The story of brothers Carl and Louis Stokes, and their amazing parallel accomplishments is unique and inspiring. Carl Stokes served as Mayor of Cleveland from 1967 to 1971, and was also a municipal judge and U.S. Ambassador. Older brother Louis Stokes was elected to a U. S. Congressional seat for 15 terms from 1969 to 1999. During his tenure he was the chair of the House Select Committee on the King Kennedy Assassinations, Iran-Contra, and a pivotal figure in the Black Democratic Caucus. 

The exhibit will use the life stories of the two brothers to illuminate and define broader issues in African-American and American urban history during the last seven decades of the 20^th century. Visitors to the exhibit can gain insight into the “worlds” of these two brothers from Cleveland – from their own boyhood heroes to the Civil Rights movement, as well as their involvement in local, then regional and national politics, and the importance of the legacies they helped create.

The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, November 18. The exhibit runs through 2008. WRHS is open Monday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 5 pm. Admission is $8.50 adults, $7.50 for seniors and $5 for children ages 3-12.